I will always love this book. Partly because it reminds me of my mother. Partly because it reminds me of being a teenager (I think I was that young when I first read it? not far off anyway. But mostly because I love Mary Wesley's writing. Her characters are fascinating (if not always likeable) and their relationships are wonderfully complicated and messy and real. I particularly like Wesley's female characters. Love them or hate them, Wesley writes strong, rounded, three dimensional women - and I love her novels for this, because good female characters are hard to find. Emily Thornby is a great example of this, as is Rose the protagonist. Both of them are flawed characters with complex motivations. Emily certainly is less than likeable but you can't help admiring her and finding her fascinating.I also enjoy the historical context. Wesley's writing about WW2 is always fascinating to me, because I know she lived through it so it resonates in a way that historical fiction often doesn't when the author is relying on second hand sources. This book is a wonderfully rich slice of history as well as an entertaining love story. Wesley's take on love is interesting too. This is definitely a romantic story but it's far from being a typical romance. Instalove and UST, realism and pain, denial, betrayal and separation. This story is about life on an epic scale, but love prevails.
I like this book for the same reason that I like the Thorn Birds. It is a tale of tortured romance, stiffled over the years.The two lovers who meet as teenagers but never took the chance of true love and on occasion bitterly regret it is my idea of a good novel. The need for security for Rose is understandable as her lover Mylo risks all during the war. The fact that years go by at times where they never meet but their love doesn't really wane is soooo romantic. Also that the relationship isn't all rose-tinted and that they have their ups and downs even though they are not together seems so realistic. I don't know much about Mary Wesley but she has good insight into this sort of affair.If you like Romeo and Juliet, The Thorn Birds this should appeal.
Do You like book Not That Sort Of Girl (1989)?
I received this book as a gift from a friend with good taste and a sly wit (well, actually from a couple, my one wonderful and improbable experiment in matchmaking) for my birthday.I don't know if you have to be in your 60's to enjoy this. I hope not, for it is witty and passionate and wonderful and thoughtful; a dance back through time and then forward for an apparently conventional woman of 67 years.I loved it. How little we know of the undercurrents of each others lives, how little of what might really be sustaining someone through the decades of playing our careful roles.And now on to another Mary Wesley.If you like Iris Murdoch you'll probably enjoy Mary Wesley.
—Kathy
I love the book! It focuses mainly on extra marital affairs, which I do not condone. But the author wrote it in a manner that's light and I like that. I think this situation is happening in reality wherein people would not end up marrying the people they love but chose to be practical and chose financial security. The heroine in this book however was pushed because of pressure form those around her. I like that Milo and her weer given the chance to be together happily in the end. And that was a long wait. At least, there's still true love in this book and it still won in the end.
—Normalyn Espejo
